Parenthood
by batastrophe
Summary: Parenthood is tricky business, especially when you're a superhero. Or, members of the Team and League's thoughts on parenthood. "He guessed he should have realized, after Bart had let slip that Iris was carrying two instead of one, that they weren't about to welcome just two new children into their lives, but three."
1. Roy

**Roy**

Roy had never seriously considered becoming a parent. First of all, he was too young. It was never something that was on his mind; parenthood was something _real_ adults did. Besides, not even Ollie or most of the grown men and women in the Justice League were parents. It was just _way_ too early in his life to be thinking about that.

Second of all, Roy was just not parent material. He didn't even like kids very much; Roy lacked the sense of humor and the patience that were required for taking care of children. Plus, they were _messy_.

And lastly, and most importantly, Roy was just not cut out to be a parent. If the past couple years didn't prove that, he didn't know what would. Betraying the League, his failure to find the real Speedy, his decent from hero to vigilante to…hell, he didn't even know what he was anymore.

And there was the alcohol. And the drugs. And the clashes with both criminals and law enforcement that had become more violent and unpredictable with time.

He was barely taking care of himself, so how could he be expected to take care of another human being? Especially one so small, so wholly dependent?

As he sat on his moth-eaten couch in his filthy apartment, holding his daughter for the first time, Jade kneeling in front of him with steel in her eyes, he had thought of all the reasons he shouldn't be a parent. Why _they_ shouldn't be parents. And yet here they were.

Looking back on this moment, he realized that becoming a father didn't change him. Because no matter what people liked to say, becoming a parent alone wasn't enough to really change a person; there were enough crappy parents in the world to show that.

No, seeing Lian that first time, holding her in his arms, hearing her sweet gurgle and feeling her small but firm grasp on his finger, none of it changed Roy.

But it gave him a reason to change.

And maybe that was enough.

* * *

 **Hello! So, I know, I'm supposed to be writing the next chapter to Blackout, right? Haha, whoops... This bunny has been bugging me for the past couple weeks, so I decided to get it out of my system and write some of it. This is going to cover League and Team members who are or become parents. Chapter 2 is up!**


	2. Barry

***Throws this chapter toward you all, runs away and hides***

 **Barry**

"Whadya mean Iris is going into labor? But it's too soon! Dad'sbirthdayisn'tforanothertwodaysshecan'tbegoingintolaboralready—"

"Whoa, Bart, slow down," said Barry, slightly amused. For the past couple days Barry had been a jumble of nerves as they approached Iris's due date, but now that Iris was going into labor, he found himself oddly calm. He guessed it was his speedster mentality; waiting for things made him antsy, but now that the day was finally here, he could rein in his nerves. In stark contrast, however, Bart had remained totally calm and unfazed by Iris's steadily growing belly, until now. Barry had chalked it up to the fact that the kid wasn't the one who was about to become a parent.

Then what Bart had said caught up to his brain. "What do you mean 'dad's birthday isn't for another two days?' Do you mean you've known when the twins would be born this whole time?"

"Uhhh, yeah, about that," said Bart, shifting his eyes to the side and rubbing a hand behind his head. "Spoilers?"

Barry pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger and took a deep breath, then exhaled.

"C'mon, Gramps," said Bart jovially, "you didn't really think I'd forget my own dad's _birthday_ , did you? What kind of guy do you think I am?"

In all honesty, it hadn't actually occurred to Barry to ask Bart when the twins would be born. But it seemed it was irrelevant now.

They were at the Watchtower, having only just recently returned from a mission. After entering through the Zeta-Tubes, Flash had been met by Batman, of all people, who said in his dry tone, "your wife requests your presence at Keystone Memorial Hospital," and then, (and Flash almost thought he imagined this part), Batman gave the smallest possible of smiles and said "Congratulations" before turning away and striding back to the monitors.

It was at this point that Bart had burst into speed-speech.

"Okay," said Barry, removing his face from his hand, annoyed to find he felt jittery again. " _I'm_ going to the hospital. You can stay here for now."

"What?" said Bart, deflating slightly. "I don't get to come?"

Barry smiled despite himself at the forlorn look on Bart's face. "It's not that, kid," he said. "Labor can last over thirty hours. If the twins aren't going to be born until the day after tomorrow, it looks like we're going to be in this for the long haul. I'll call you when we get closer, okay?" said Barry, resting his hand on Bart's shoulder. "If you come now, the wait'll probably kill you," he said, quirking an eyebrow.

Bart smiled in relief. "Crash," he said. "But you better not forget to call me. I don't want to miss meeting my dad for the first time—I mean," he said, recovering, "the first time for him. Yeah. But what are you waiting around here for? Irisiswaiting!Go!"

Barry shot an exasperated look over his shoulder as Bart ushered him back toward the Zeta-Tubes. "Okay, okay, I'm going!" he said, holding up his hands in surrender. "And I won't forget. See you in a bit, Bart."

* * *

"I am not naming our children Dawn and Don," said Iris through a scowl. "You can pick one, and the other gets a different name. I don't care which, but we are _not_ giving them names that are homophones."

"Come on, Iris," said Barry. "Just _imagine_ it. We'll never get another opportunity like this."

"I hope to God we don't," said Iris, squeezing her eyes shut and screwing up her face in pain as another contraction started. "I never want to do this again."

"What about if we—"

"Shut up!" gritted Iris. "Shutupshutupshutup!" Barry snapped his jaw shut and waited until the contraction passed. After a minute, Iris exhaled and opened her eyes. "I still think naming our children Don and Dawn is one of the more ridiculous ideas you've had in recent memory." Barry shifted his eyes over and rubbed his hand on the back of his head. Iris narrowed her eyes. The motion reminded her of someone— _Bart_. "Wait. Don't tell me you got this from Bart," she said.

"Well, about that," he started. "If I'm being perfectly honest, I get where you're coming from, honey, I really do. But according to Bart, we already _did_ name our kids that. Hell if I know how I convinced you in that timeline though," he muttered. "But the point is, we have to name them Don and Dawn, or we risk messing up the timestream."

Iris stared at him, feeling utterly exasperated. "You've got to be _kidding_ me," she moaned and then clenched her jaw as another contraction rippled through her.

"Hey, hey, hey," said Barry, taking her hand in his. "You're doing great, hon. You're magnificent."

As the contraction eased, Barry brushed his thumb over her knuckles and kissed her hand. "You're too sweet to me," she said, smiling slightly. "Fine. Dawn and Don it is. But _you_ get to explain why when they're older."

"Deal," he said, smiling. They fell into a comfortable silence, broken only every five minutes or so by another contraction, and Barry's mind began to wander. Truth be told, he hadn't really thought about becoming a parent before all this. The pregnancy hadn't exactly been planned, but they were at the right time in their lives to have kids, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he guessed he always thought he'd be a dad. But really, what was most shocking of all was Bart's sudden and assertive presence in their lives. Barry figured that part of the nature of pregnancy was giving parents-to-be the time to adjust and re-order their lives, as well as mentally prepare themselves for having children. The advent of Bart kind of circumnavigated that whole process.

They weren't just becoming parents. No, they already _were_. Hell, they were already _grandparents_. And to top it all off, they now had a hyperactive 13-year old speedster to care for.

Barry bit his lip, going over his conversation with Bart from earlier. He'd said he wanted to meet his dad for the first time—while it wasn't exactly farfetched language when talking about newborns, it was an odd choice of words coming from a time-traveler. Barry frowned. In fact, he'd noticed on several occasions that Bart tended toward the over-excited when meeting people in the present. Barry could chalk it up to the boy's usual enthusiasm, but as the instances kept adding up, he had a sneaking suspicion that that wasn't the full story.

"Iris?" he asked softly, after she finished another contraction.

"What is it, Barry?" she said.

"Do you ever get the feeling that Bart's…hiding something?"

Iris eyed him skeptically and sighed. "Honey, what _isn't_ that boy hiding? Sure, he's genuine enough when he shows emotion or reacts to the present, but have you ever once heard him talk about his past? I mean, really talk about it?"

"He says he can't risk messing with the timestream—"

"That's bull and you know it," said Iris sternly. "The timestream is already messed with. If it wasn't, we'd all be slaves of the Reach by now." She sighed and shifted into a slightly more comfortable position on the bed. "If the Reach had been in power for forty years before he came to us, what kind of a world do you think he grew up in?"

"I think…" said Barry hesitating. He sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "You know, on the day Bart first arrived, he pretty much saved my life. He acted like it was a mistake, just happenstance, but I can't help but think…I think maybe that's why he came back on that day. I think, in his timeline, I may have…died that day." Iris's eyes widened slightly at his words. Silently, she gripped his hand a little more tightly. "Have you ever noticed," Barry asked, meeting her eyes, "how _excited_ he is whenever he meets somebody? The way he acts—it's not like you act when you haven't seen somebody in a while. It's how you act when you're meeting…I don't know, a celebrity or something. Someone you know about, but haven't ever met yourself."

"Someone you admire," added Iris. "Someone you've heard a lot about."

"Exactly." Barry lapsed into silence. Another contraction hit Iris and she gritted her teeth and squeezed his hand through it, relaxing after a minute.

"I don't want this to upset you," he started hesitatingly. "But earlier today, he said—" Barry swallowed. There was suddenly a lump in his throat. "He said he couldn't wait to meet his dad for the first time. I think he meant—I think he meant he never _has—_ " Barry found he couldn't finish. It was so _wrong_ , so utterly wrong that on the day of the birth of his children, that he should be thinking about their deaths, that he should be confronted with the knowledge that in an alternate timeline, not only did he die before he knew he would become a father, but that his son would also die before he got a chance to raise his son. That somewhere in an alternate future, his grandson would grow up without a father, in a world so barren and desperate that he risked everything to come to the past and change history itself.

"Oh, shhh, shhh, Barry," said Iris, slightly teary-eyed herself. "It's okay! None of that's gonna happen now!"

"We don't know what will happen now," said Barry. "We already lost Wally—"

"Hey, don't do that!" said Iris. "You and I both know for a fact that Wally wouldn't want us crying over him, not today! Not when we're about to meet our son and daughter!" Despite her words, Iris brushed aside a couple stray tears that rushed down her cheeks. "Hey, look at me! None of that is gonna happen," she said firmly. "We're not going to _let_ it happen. And as for Bart, _we're_ his family now, okay? He's not going to be alone again, ever." She smiled a watery smile at him.

"Okay," he said, and smiled at her. "You know I love you, right?"

"Stop being so mushy," she said, but sniffled a little despite herself. "And I do know. I love you too," she said softly. She grimaced as another contraction started. After a couple minutes, she exhaled shakily. "Is it just me, or are these getting closer together?"

* * *

Three hours later, and after an excruciatingly long labor, Iris gave birth to the twins. True to his word, Barry had called up Bart when Iris's contractions were just two minutes apart, giving Bart plenty of time to reach the hospital. In retrospect, Barry found himself wishing he'd waited until the contractions were even closer together; Bart nearly wore a trench into the waiting room floor pacing, his impatience was so great. (Iris flatly refused to have him in the delivery room; in addition to the fact that he was just thirteen and had yet to be introduced to the finer points of the miracle of life, she really didn't think she'd be able to stand his chatter.)

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Bart, a weary Iris was wheeled out of the delivery room and into recovery, two small bundles held snugly against her chest. Barry walked along beside the bed, a smile plastered on his face. The Garricks and the Wests, who had also come to meet the babies, gathered around Iris, cooing and snapping photos. Bart hesitated in the threshold. Nine months after appearing in the present, he sometimes still felt awkward and out of place among the Allen family. Right now was one of those times.

Plus, he was nervous.

He jumped as Barry placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling down at the young speedster. "Come say hello, Bart," he said softly, and guided the boy to where Iris waited with the twins.

"Hey, Aunt Dawn," said Bart quietly, gaze falling on the pink bundle currently being held by Joan Garrick.

"Bart?" asked Iris. Bart turned hesitatingly away from Dawn to see Iris, holding the second baby, wrapped in a light blue blanket. "Would you like to hold him?"

Bart hesitated, then nodded, carefully taking the infant from Iris's arms into his own.

"Hey, dad," whispered Bart. "So I'm Bart…It's probably a little confusing, but I'm actually your son," he said, chuckling. "But don't worry. It's gonna be so totally crash seeing you grow up, if a little backwards," He rocked the baby slightly, who worked an arm out of his wrappings, flailing it and blinking up at the face above him. "You'll see. We'll get to spend so much time together, we'll make up for—" he stopped. He tried to cut himself off, to change the subject, but he found himself overwhelmed. There was so much he'd lost, but so much he'd gained too—it might be a bit backwards, but his dad would be here, and Aunt Dawn and Barry too.

"I missed you," he finally said, his voice wavering. He blinked in surprise when he felt hot tears seeping down his face. "I really, really, missed you." Bart reached a finger toward the baby's flailing fist, the infant latching onto it in a surprisingly strong grip. Bart smiled.

Barry watched Bart from across the room. The others were congregated around Iris and Dawn, and he would join them soon, but for the time being he was struck by the sight of Bart holding his infant father. Barry shook his head, slightly awed. It sure was unusual, and maybe even a bit bizarre, but there it was.

Who would have thought? He chuckled to himself slightly. How could he have predicted, that cold day in late February when Impulse first burst through the door, that the kid would worm his way so completely into their family? Into their hearts? And he guessed he should have realized, after Bart had let slip that Iris was carrying two instead of one, that they weren't about to welcome just two new children into their lives, but three. Family was funny, that way, he thought.

But he wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

 **A/N: So...that was angsty and fluffy all at the same time...heh.**

 **So how did Barry convince Iris to name the twins Dawn and Don in the alternate timeline, you ask? He didn't. He's always said if he ever had twins he wanted to name them that. And since he died, Iris named them that as a way of honoring him...just sharing in case you weren't crushed enough already, heh.**

 **I plan to write Zatara, Raquel, Aquaman, and Batman (because we all love Daddybats, right?), though I don't know the order I'll write them in. Stay tuned, and please feel free to leave a review! :)**


	3. Zatara

**A/N: Thank you to those of you who reviewed the last chapter! CaraLee934, Ileana Mackenzie Collins, and Random Reader, you are all amazing! Now, on to Zatara!**

* * *

 **Zatara**

He never wanted his daughter to join the Justice League.

In fact, Giovanni Zatara could probably write a book of all the things he hoped his daughter would never do. Of all the things he hoped she would never have to face.

Couldn't all fathers?

No, Zatara wanted nothing more than to keep Zatanna out of harm's way. But Zatanna never made things easy on him. Always a strongminded girl, she never failed to speak her mind or to take matters into her own hands. She would object to his so-called "over-protectiveness," use magic to sneak out of the house, and Zatara had a strong suspicion that she had played a part in her own "kidnapping" by the Team.

He had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that he could carry all the burdens of the world for her, shield her from any harm, and that she would remain content to let him shield her. He should have known better.

Was there a rule somewhere that said the more you worried about your children, the less they worried about themselves? That the more protective you were, the more headstrong they would be?

Nothing was more important to Zatara than his daughter. So when he saw her that cold night in November, her face hidden behind the helmet of fate, the blistering voice of Nabu emanating from her, fear gripped his heart like it never had before.

His daughter. His Zatanna. To be thrown bodily into the never-ending conflict between chaos and order? To become a slave to the helmet and lose out on any chance of her own life before she'd even had a proper chance to live it? She was only fourteen.

Was there a rule somewhere that said the more you loved your children, the more it hurt when you thought you might lose them? That the more you loved them, the more you would sacrifice for them?

He didn't even hesitate.

Becoming Doctor Fate didn't stop Zatara from worrying. He watched from behind the helmet as Zatanna joined the Team of young heroes he hadn't wanted her to join, heard stories of her taking down villains he had never wanted her to face, and watched her grow into the hero he hadn't wanted her to have to become. He watched, silent and enslaved, as she grew into a powerful sorcerer, capable hero, and mature young woman.

So despite it all, when Doctor Fate joined the other members of the League that cold day at the end of November to welcome the newest inductees to the Justice League, as Zatara watched from beneath the cold and featureless helmet as Zatanna accepted her League membership, at the crowd cheering, at the news cameras broadcasting her achievements to the world, he didn't feel fear.

No, he had never wanted Zatanna to join the Justice League. But watching his little girl on that stage, seeing everything she had accomplished?

He had never felt more proud.

* * *

 **Hope you liked this chapter! Please review!**

 **I think the next installment will either be Raquel or Aquaman. Saving Batman for last!**


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